Valentine
by CherrieBlossom73
Summary: This is a cute little one shot between Serena and Calem, inspired by the cover image. I thought of it for Valentines day but didn't finish it until today. I hope you like and enjoy it!


"Here, take this. You're going to catch a cold." He said as he wrapped his scarf around my neck. The wind picked up around us, whistling in my ears. His scarf was still warm. The scent of his cologne lingered on the fabric; it invaded my senses on every inhale. I couldn't help but bite my lip in giddiness.

Calem looked down at me, his hair masking his eyes, making him look mysterious. I admired him for always looking out for me, even when I didn't ask for his help. No matter what he always remained by my side, guiding me through anything that dared come my way. I liked that about him, that he was so concerned and caring. He's been like that since the day he moved into town, we instantly became close friends. We connected immediately and I was glad to have someone I could talk to. Because the truth was, I liked being around him, with him. Calem made me feel welcome, like I could be myself and he wouldn't judge me. I didn't have to guard my thoughts around him. My heart was safe when I was with him; I knew he would never hurt me.

"Thank you, Calem." I said, my heart skipping a beat as he winked at me.

"Anything for you, Serena."

That was the moment where I got dizzy with emotions and I didn't know which way was up and which way was down. All I could see was him through the mild flurry of snow, his dark eyes sparkling as he smirked at me. He brushed my hair back, the motion sending a spark of heat through my entire body. Did he feel it? Or was it just me?

I didn't mean to but I did on instinct. As he started to retract his hand I leaned into it. I wanted to feel the warmth of his hand on my cheek. His scarf was warm but it wasn't enough. I wanted the real thing. I closed my eyes as he cupped my cheek in his palm, savoring the sweetness of his touch. I could only dream about his touch, wish for it and pray my wish came true. We hugged and high fived on occasion, but it wasn't the same thing as being embraced. Through his glove I could feel the strength of his hand and it gave me a warm feeling my stomach. This is what I longed for. Did he want it too? When I realized what I was doing I gasped and jerked out of his touch. The simple reaction caused me to lose my footing and I slipped on the snow.

"I gotcha," like lightning, Calem reached out and grabbed my wrist just as I was going down. His other arm wrapped around my waist, holding me against him. I was bent over at the waist, heart pounding and mind swirling as Calem gazed down at me. Behind his scarf I could feel my face burning in embarrassment. I wanted to hide under the scarf and pretend that did not just happen.

"You okay, Serena?" Calem asked in a soft voice. His eyes searched mine and I could feel his concern. Once again the world vanished and all I saw was him.

I nodded, too breath taken to say anything audible. His smile melted my heart and I thought I would fall out of his grasp. But he held me against him, so close to the point where our faces were nearly touching. Carefully, Calem helped me back on my feet, keeping his hand on my waist to make sure I remained steady. The wind picked up and I had to shield my eyes from the onslaught of falling snow. It was getting worse out here, we needed to get to the Pokémon center before the blizzard hit.

"Calem, we need to get out of this weather. How much farther is the Pokémon center?"

"It should be right up this path. Take my hand and follow me."

I slid my gloved hand into his and he gripped onto mine as if he didn't want to lose me. Together we trudged through the three feet of snow, his scarf protecting me from the majority of the snowfall. I didn't look up as we made our way to the Pokémon center, which made me stumble into Calem when he stopped moving.

"We're here," he said, having to raise his voice over the loud whistling of the wind. We rushed inside, shaking off the snow from our bodies. I sighed in relief. We could finally rest. That trip through the forest seemed like an eternity of us going in circles. Being indoors made me feel like royalty at this point. The center was bright and full of warmth that I happily welcomed. Nurse Joy was at the counter, smiling profusely with her Wigglytuff by her side. Nurse Joy caught our eye and waved us over.

"Welcome to the Pokémon center. Do you need a place to stay tonight?" Nurse joy asked.

"That would be great, Nurse Joy!" I exclaimed, thinking of the soft bed I was going to have all to myself.

"It's our pleasure. Unfortunately, there's only one bed left. The weather has caused many travelling trainers to find shelter here, tonight. I'm sorry for any inconvenience."

My stomach dropped, and if I didn't catch myself, my mouth would've dropped, too. Only one bed? How is that going to work?

"It's not a problem, Nurse Joy! We're happy to be here regardless."

Calem was certainly taking it smoothly. Would we rotate shifts? If that were the case I wouldn't get any sleep at all, and I would be too tired to leave in the morning! This was terrible.

"You don't mind sharing a bed, do you Serena?" Calem asked.

"Sharing?" I stuttered, stupidly. Of course we would share the bed, what else would we do? Stupid Serena!

"N-no I don't mind." I smiled at him to reassure him that I didn't mind. However, I was freaking out on the inside. I would get to share a bed with Calem! All my wishing had come true! Excitement overcame me and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. My crush on Calem was overwhelming my ability to think rationally. I tried to take some deep breaths to slow the race my heart was competing in.

We put our bags by the wall our bed was situated against and relaxed. Other trainers who had gotten caught in the blizzard were either talking to each other or doing their own thing. It was like a nice little community where everyone could be themselves and enjoy their time away from home. I looked over at Calem who was petting his Froakie. I remember the day Calm chose Froakie as his starter. It was the same day I chose Fennekin. On the day I met Calem, we became friends. But we also became rivals. He told me that when he saw me, he knew I had potential as a Pokémon trainer. I told him he was misreading me and that I didn't even have my first Pokémon yet. Calem had exclaimed to me that it didn't matter; it was the fire in my soul and the compassion in my heart that would make me a great trainer. It was then that he declared me as his rival, which made me a little sad because I thought it meant we wouldn't be friends. But I was wrong. Even though he made himself my rival, it didn't stop him from wanting to be my friend and wanting to travel with me. So, on that day, he let me choose my starter first and I chose Fennekin as my partner. Since Fennekin is a fire-type and Calem wanted to be one step ahead of me, he chose Froakie as his starter. Since then, we've been travelling together ever since. Every day after that has been the best time of my life.

It wasn't long after that that I began to have a crush on Calem. Looking at him now, I wondered if he knew. He seemed really happy on our journey across the world, and that made me really happy. Being here, with Calem, was like being handed a golden ticket to happiness. Like no matter what happened, happiness was bound to come my way and it would shine like a shooting star across the night sky. I felt like I could accomplish anything while I was with Calem. Was that the definition of friendship? Or something greater…

I could hear the whistling of the blizzard outside and could only imagine how much more snow there was now. I was thankful that we made it here in time before it got worse and was once again happy that I was with Calem. It seemed like he was my good luck charm.

Suddenly, everything went dark and all I could see were blurry shapes. There were gasps and groans as everyone reacted to the sudden blackout. I instinctively reached for something to hold on to, my nerves getting the better of me, and I bumped into Calem's hand. He placed his hand in mine and gave a small squeeze, comforting me. I was momentarily glad for the blackout because he wouldn't be able to see the shade of cherry that my face was becoming.

"Sorry, everyone! It seems the blizzard has caused the power to go out. The power should be back on in a few moments so please be patient," Came Nurse Joy's voice from the center of the room.

I didn't know what to say in the darkness so I stayed quiet. The trainers commented on the power, saying they hoped it would be able to come on soon. I didn't mind the darkness; the feel of Calem's hand on mine helped me relax. But then it started getting cold and I was still in my traveling skirt and blouse. It had been about twenty-minutes or so since the power went out. If they couldn't get the power back on soon, we'd all freeze over night.

"I'm sorry, everyone! Nurse Joy said from somewhere in the dark," Our generators are not working and we are unable to get them back on. We will try again soon so in the meantime, be patient."

By this time I was shaking my leg trying to keep warm. "Are you cold?" Calem asked. He scooted over next to me on the bed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. His arm was light across my shoulders, his hand rubbing my arm in small strokes. I felt goosebumps on my arms begin to form due to his touch; it made me shiver.

"Relax, Serena. Everything's going to be fine." Calem's voice was so soft and soothing, deep and welcoming. He spoke in a hushed whisper like he only meant for me to hear his delicate words. My head was screaming and my body was frozen. I felt paralyzed but not. What do you do when your crush is this close to you? Does this mean something? My mind raced to try to find answers to the questions that plagued my thoughts. We sat like that for a while, his arm draped across my shoulders, my face blooming crimson, and then the power jumped back on and I wanted to fall into a hole.

When the lights came back on I jumped so hard I went at least an inch off the bed. Everyone hoorayed at that point, happy to be able to see again. I was wishing my face wasn't bright bred and Calem wasn't looking at me.

"We should probably change into our pajamas," Calem said, retracting his arm. I immediately felt the desolate area where he was and wanted his warmth to envelope me again. I sighed. I needed to grow up. If I kept freaking out over the small things Calem does then I'm never going to get anywhere. It's time to start reciprocating.

I grabbed my bag and headed to the bathroom. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I changed into my pajamas and headed back to the bed. Calem was already there; in fact he was already lying down. I was unsure as to how to approach him and lay down myself, but he eased my nerves.

Patting the spot next to him he said,"Come lay down. It's nice and warm." I got into the bed next to him, trying to not over think things. When I lay down, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. Stare at the ceiling? Make small talk? Go to sleep? I never lay in a bed with Calem before so I didn't know the protocol.

"Hey, Serena?" Calem asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

It sounded like a personal question was about to come. "Sure."

"Do you like Ash?"

I expected a personal question but nothing like that. I haven't seen Ash in weeks. Originally, he was supposed to come with us on our journey and I was excited about that. But he ended up not coming with us- something about an emergency back home that he had to tend to. I did have a crush on Ash for a little while, but his spontaneous and erratic personality kept taking him away from me. So, I eventually let him go as my romantic crush and my heart latched onto Calem thereafter. I haven't thought about him in a while.

"You're silence makes me nervous."

I didn't know how to answer the question. I liked Ash, but only as a friend. Despite my earlier romantic feelings for him that's all I saw him as- a friend. But why did Calem want to know? That was my own question.

"I think Ash is a good friend to have, but my feelings don't surpass that."

I could practically feel his body relax next to me. He was tense, but why?

"That's a relief." Calem said.

"It is?"

Calem turned toward me on his side, his face was against my right shoulder. If I turned to look at him we would be in a situation I wasn't sure was smart. So I stayed still and tried not to let the density of the atmosphere make me nervous.

"Serena," his voice demanded my attention and I couldn't stop from turning in his direction. His eyes were full of emotion and secrets that begged to come out. He was so gentle in the way he looked at me, like I was a fragile piece of glass he didn't want to touch. I could feel his breath on my neck; it was cool against my skin. We lay there, gazing at each other, communicating silently as if we didn't need to open our mouths to tell each other what we were thinking. Calem had something inside he wanted to come out and I was begging for it to come out. Time was nonexistent while we lay there. I didn't realize I had turned my entire body toward him, that we were now face to face with nothing in our way. My heart was doing slow hard beats inside my chest, but it didn't affect me. Nothing affected me at this moment, because all I saw was Calem.

In a slow, hushed whisper, Calem looked at me, then down at my lips and said, "Will you be my valentine?"

At that moment my lungs no longer worked, I was incapable of breathing. Calem's voice rang through my head in a distant echo, like waves crashing on a shore. The reality of his words hit me like a thunder bolt as we leaned in toward each other, eyes dimmed and hearts quickening. As cliché as it is, I could feel the fireworks between us and the butterflies in my stomach as we embraced each other in a slow but passion-filled kiss. My whole body transcended into warmth when he placed his hand on my cheek. We didn't pull apart right away, but when we did, the expression in his eyes made me want to cry tears of joy.

"Yes, Calem. I will be your valentine, as long as you'll be mine." I said, not even trying to wipe the smile off my face.

He smirked and kissed me again, "I would love nothing more, Serena. As long as you are mine, I would love nothing more."


End file.
